From business to ball games, the world is filled with competition—but when it comes to healthcare, win-win scenarios are an outcome that we all strive for. That’s why, today, we’re discussing the benefits of coopetition in healthcare.
Coopetition is just what it sounds like: a combination of competition and cooperation. Read on to find out more about how this concept can help healthcare practices succeed.
Benefit #1: Create better patient care
Just like any other medical innovation, training or improvement, coopetition in healthcare can lead to better patient care. Coopetition makes it possible for patients to:
- Lower their costs.
- Get access to more specialists.
- Choose the best medical professional to address their concerns.
In other words, whatever wins your healthcare office receives through competition and cooperation, your patients will always be the true winners.
Benefit #2: Cut costs in your organization
Patient health is always job number one—but it can be a challenge to balance the costs of some medical procedures, like simple diagnostic services and chronic disease management.
By partnering with an office that can provide frequently used medical services at lower costs, you can create a three-way-win: The patient saves money, your organization doesn’t have to subsidize procedures, and the other healthcare office gets more business.
Instead of just sending patients to another office, take the time to work with the partner healthcare provider to build a mutually beneficial relationship. You can use a tabletop banner to explain what procedures patients might want to get elsewhere—and why.
You can help make the point stronger with medical giveaway ideas. Give your patient some bandages and explain that—just as not every little scrape requires a doctor visit—some basic medical needs can be met at convenient, less expensive facilities.
Benefit #3: Offer follow-up care and community health
Sometimes a large organization can offer a great service at a lower price, but can’t offer critical follow-up care.
For example, another provider may be able to schedule mammograms conveniently and at a more affordable cost than your office can. But if the procedure reveals that follow-up treatments are necessary, they’ll need the help that only your office can offer.
Get in contact with the office offering services to discuss creating a mutually beneficial connection. You can send patients who need cost-effective services, and they can send patients in need of additional care.
A simple postcard with a convenient magnet that highlights what you offer is easy to keep on hand and share with a patient in need. You can also turn medical giveaway ideas into useful, long-lasting reminders, such as a medical history diary or sticky notes that look like scrubs.
Benefit #4: Create innovation
One of the most powerful benefits of coopetition is secure data sharing. While all shared data must follow state and national regulations, sharing medical data makes it possible to innovate and spread knowledge that helps create new medications, technologies and other advancements more quickly.
Benefit #5: Connect to specialists
If your healthcare organization is part of a rural community, you won’t always be able to offer access to specialists when an important need arises. Thanks to innovation in telehealth, your office can perform tests, scans and other procedures, which can then be shared with specialists anywhere in the world.
Everyone’s a winner with coopetition
Whether you’re partnering with another medical facility, striving to be the best at what you do, or sharing data to promote innovation, coopetition in healthcare creates opportunities where everyone can win. And when it comes to healthcare, “getting better” is always the goal.